Around 100 people perished in mud slides in the town of New Bataan. Victims were dragged away by rushing waters. Others were crushed by fallen trees.

The army said 342 people were killed and 416 were missing across the southern Philippines after Bopha triggered landslides and floods along the coast and in farming and mining towns inland in the southern Mindanao region.

The death toll could rise further, with local government officials reporting higher numbers of missing and dead.

In Davao Oriental, another badly hit province where more than a hundred died, some family members buried their dead in a mass grave.

Super typhoons are uncommon in this part of Mindanao, and the howling winds terrified its residents.

The governor said the disaster's impact was greater because people refused to evacuate from their homes.

Structures in three towns, including hospitals and churches, collapsed due strong winds, Governor Cora Malanyaon added.

Aid has been slow to reach the worst hit towns, as the storm destroyed roads and bridges. Some areas are still flooded, while others are covered in mud.

Thousands of homes have been damaged, leaving thousands homeless.

Soldiers, police, firemen and volunteers have been working around the clock, but the tasks of finding more survivors and burying the dead seem endless.